


Saving It

by Azzandra



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Communication, Established Relationship, Fluff, Lorenz and Ignatz are engaged and just doing their best, M/M, PDA, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-22 13:46:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22850428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azzandra/pseuds/Azzandra
Summary: The foundation of a strong marriage is communication, that's why it's better to get all of your misunderstandings out of the way during your engagement.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Ignatz Victor
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Saving It

Ignatz thought he'd gotten pretty good at asking for what he wanted. Insisting on it, even. He had, after all, gathered the courage to tell his father that he would be a painter, and that had been rewarded in the end, sort of. He thought he was getting downright bold around the time he asked Lorenz to marry him, and perhaps he'd fumbled it a bit, but Lorenz had seemed delighted regardless, and the important part was that they were engaged now.

Buoyed by the elation of the impending nuptials, Ignatz and Lorenz spent the initial stage of their engagement being sweet on each other as only soon-to-be-wed couples could be. They had long walks through the rose-gardens, hand in hand, Lorenz's head tilted low so the words between them didn't have to travel far, and even though nothing they spoke of was secret, these were still intimate conversations, deep-delving and revealing all at once.

Hilda often rolled her eyes at them, and Marianne gave them slow, knowing smiles, and Ignatz found himself grinning at both in response, because the acknowledgment, no matter how small or irreverent, only fed further into Ignatz's happiness, like dry twigs tossed into a fire.

Really, he felt so happy, he was beginning to give some credence to the notion that love turned people stupid. He spent his free time doodling into his sketchbook lovingly rendered portraits of Lorenz's face surrounded by roses, long past the point where he could excuse it as practice. He was beginning to despair that he was never going to get the urge to draw Lorenz out of his system, and then that despair turned to giddiness at the thought that he would love his husband just like so for the rest of their days.

He had been a bit too reckless to pin the high point of his mood on those walks in the garden, though, and this was something he realized belatedly.

Their time together was always enjoyable, of course: breakfast together, before Lorenz went off to his duties and Ignatz went to teach his classes at the artisan's school. Lunch, sometimes, on odd days when their schedules converged. A short walk before dinner, and then later, a walk before or after supper. Longer, slower, when evening encroached and they could take their time with each other.

This was when they walked hand in hand, or stopped to watch the sunset from the quiet gazebo. This was when occasionally they would trade kisses: Lorenz's lips cool and soft on each one of Ignatz's knuckles, or his cheek, or pressing against Ignatz's temple with reverence, accompanied by a sigh. Ignatz rising on his tiptoes, or tugging on Lorenz's cravat to pull him in.

Lorenz was always soft as rose petals--Ignatz couldn't hope to match that shy delicacy, so instead he tried to be forthright: cradling Lorenz's face in his hands like something precious, capturing his lips in heated exchanges that melted into one another until it wasn't distinct kisses anymore, it was just kissing. Ignatz has always been better at showing than telling, after all.

Since their engagement, there was more of an immediacy to their embraces that hadn't been there before. Ignatz thought he had a good handle on the escalating scope of their physical affections, until one evening Lorenz pulled back with a gasp and a wild look in his eye.

"We seem to be advancing into improper territory," Lorenz said, with a nervous titter.

It took Ignatz a beat to process the words, because his brain had been reduced to a bowl of happy oatmeal by Lorenz's proximity. Especially in that moment. Their walk had taken them by the gazebo that evening, where Ignatz had sat himself up on the stone banister so he could be high enough to kiss Lorenz, and Lorenz, at first, had been highly amenable, slotting himself between Ignatz's knees and wrapping his arms around Ignatz's waist to stop any unfortunate tumbling from ruining their-- well, not to be coarse about it, but Ignatz believed the appropriate term was 'make-out session', at least according to Hilda.

Maybe he had been coarse about it? Ignatz couldn't deny he had gotten a bit... excited, but he thought that was what they were aiming for. In the press of their bodies together, he thought Lorenz had gotten... comparably excited.

"O-oh, I'm sorry," Ignatz said, as Lorenz pulled away, red-faced, and straightened his clothing as an excuse to avoid eye contact.

"Not at all, the fault is mine," Lorenz said, and then backtracked, "That is to say, I encouraged a certain-- ah-- no, it is no one's fault, we do not have to speak of this."

"...Okay," Ignatz agreed in confusion, unsure what it was they weren't speaking of. The way Lorenz acted was as if they had been doing something shameful, but it wasn't as though they were teenagers engaging in illicit relations. They were engaged now. They could do-- stuff. Even if thinking of it in more detail than that still flustered Ignatz greatly.

Still, on the way back to the manor, Ignatz considered that maybe it was yet very early into the engagement. They would both need time to adjust to the idea of marriage, and perhaps Lorenz was right to stop them before they got too far along. They had all the time in the world, and they didn't need to rush.

* * *

Ignatz, for his part, thought they were going at an appropriately slow pace in their physical explorations. He didn't try to push Lorenz, and he'd learned the signs when he needed to pull back, and meanwhile, meanwhile... time seemed to fly by much too fast, and yet not fast enough.

One evening, Lorenz brought Ignatz to the room off his own suite.

"You will have quarters next to mine, of course," Lorenz informed him happily. "I will leave decorating to your discretion, but I took the liberty of furnishing the rooms myself. Would you like to see?"

His hand already alighted on the door handle, and though Lorenz was always poised, Ignatz could see the effusive sense of anticipation that had Lorenz just barely retraining himself from hopping in place. It was unspeakably endearing, which was why Ignatz felt bad for his hesitation, however brief.

Yet, Lorenz caught it.

"You do not want to see the room," Lorenz's face fell, his excitement guttering out like a snuffed candle.

"No, that's not it!" Ignatz spoke quickly, hands fluttering nervously before settling against's Lorenz's arm. "It's just-- it feels a bit distant, is all."

"What does?" Lorenz asked, now looking genuinely concerned.

"Us having different bedrooms," Ignatz explained. "That's not really something that... people do."

Lorenz stared blankly in response, so Ignatz realized his mistake. It was not something commoners did. Nobles, of course, with their arranged marriages and dreary reproductive duties, probably had a different attitude on the issue.

"I guess I'm more used to the idea of-- spouses sharing a bedroom." He winced a bit at saying it out loud, embarrassed that he had been looking forward to sharing his space with Lorenz so much, yet unwilling to let go of the idea.

"Good heavens," Lorenz said faintly. "What if the couple can't stand each other?"

"They just... deal with it, I guess?" Ignatz replied, baffled. "Not like there's usually that many rooms in most commoners' houses that they can afford separate bedrooms."

"Ah, so that's it!" Lorenz waved a hand dismissively. "Of course, regardless of what commoners can afford, I would have nothing but the very best for my fiance."

Ignatz suspected that Lorenz wasn't quite grasping the point yet. But at least he seemed to have perked up again, and he bustled Ignatz through the door to see the room being prepared for him. 

It was, as expected, a bit bare. No personal belongings, no decorations. Only a plain set of curtains, and not even rugs set down yet. Lorenz seemed quite sincere about allowing Ignatz the liberty to make this space his own, and Ignatz let himself be touched by the gesture.

The quarters had an antechamber, perhaps set up to be a parlor or tea room, but with the wide windows taking up an entire wall, Ignatz could easily see himself setting up an easel and using it as a workspace instead. The bedroom was beyond a set of double door, and it was just as bare. Empty wardrobes, a bed stripped of sheets. There was also a sort of fresh glue smell that had Ignatz suspecting the wallpaper was new.

The emptiness of the room was a bit daunting, if Ignatz was to be completely honest. He did not think he had enough possessions to even fill the entirety of the quarters, though he also suspected Lorenz knew that and would take it as an excuse to help him with decorating.

He did like that idea, of he and Lorenz working together to make this space welcoming to them both. Maybe Lorenz would enjoy time away from his own surroundings, and a break from the reminder of his station and responsibilities.

And now Ignatz was thinking of other things, as well. That they were currently standing together, alone, in the bedroom. Ignatz's bedroom. His marital suite.

"Do you like it?" Lorenz asked breathlessly.

Ignatz turned towards his future husband, looped his arms around his waist to pull him close.

"Your taste is flawless, as ever," Ignatz said.

Lorenz, like an indulgent willow tree bowing to gravity, leaned down for Ignatz to plant thankful kisses along his jawline. What might have been a couple of chaste pecks on the cheek turned more heated as Ignatz threw his arms around Lorenz's neck and held him in place to kiss him properly. He felt Lorenz's huff of laughter in his mouth, just a small, indulgent sound that Ignatz swallowed like rare wine, and he felt himself grow bold again. It was even easier behind two sets of doors, than it was in an empty garden.

It was a matter of leaning into the sway of their bodies--Ignatz taking a step forward, Lorenz taking an unusually fumbling step back--until the edge of the mattress pressed against the back of Lorenz's knees, and Ignatz need only the slightest bit of leverage to push--

Lorenz yelped in surprise, and reflexively clung; Ignatz toppled over him on the mattress. They giggled into each other's mouths before picking up where they left off, not at all dignified, not at all caring, and Ignatz settled himself to straddle over Lorenz more comfortably. Lorenz, for his part, did not seem at all opposed to the idea. He took off Ignatz's glasses, folding them carefully and placing them some distance away on the mattress. Then his fingers sank into Ignatz's hair, alternately carding through it or scraping deliciously against his scalp, and his other hand clenched into the material of Ignatz's waistcoat at the small of his back, like a lifeline as they kissed.

Ignatz, for his part, made a mess of Lorenz's cravat, tugging the knot loose so he could trail a wet path down the elegant line of Lorenz's neck. Lorenz's breaths came in short, hurried little gasps, like his heart was outracing his lungs, and when Ignatz reached the juncture of his shoulder and sucked, Lorenz's spine arched so suddenly that Ignatz almost found himself thrown off. Almost, because Lorenz's hands scrabbled, settling against Ignatz's hips and pulling him flush.

There was a distinct light-headedness Ignatz was experiencing with each sound he dragged out of Lorenz that he had never heard before, and he broke off briefly only to look at Lorenz's face. This close, he did not need his glasses to see every detail, the soft dark gaze that stared back, the lovely color in his face. There was a beat in which they only looked at each other, fond and lingering.

Then Lorenz blinked, as though waking from a spell, and cleared his throat.

"We should stop," Lorenz said suddenly, "before we either of us do something ill-advised."

"Ill-advised?" Ignatz echoed, surprised.

With an ease that belied his delicate appearance, Lorenz hoisted Ignatz off of his lap and deposited him upright on the edge of the mattress. Ignatz had barely time to get his bearings before Lorenz also handed him his glasses and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I am glad you like the room," Lorenz declared loudly, before all but vaulting to his feet and smoothing down his hair and clothes fussily. "We shall get you settled before the wedding."

And he fastidiously tied his cravat again, chattering in a nervous manner the entire time as he walked out of the room.

* * *

If Ignatz thought only that his advances were unwelcome, he would have dropped the matter without a word, and much sooner than that. But clearly, by Lorenz's other displays of physical affection, by his responses to Ignatz's touches and kisses, the issue was not that Lorenz did not _want_ to become physical, but that Ignatz was doing something wrong at some point, and he couldn't quit pinpoint what.

So, after a night of tossing and turning and overthinking things to a migraine-inducing degree, Ignatz turned up at breakfast the next day looking a bit less high-spirited than his usual self.

"My goodness, dear, you look exhausted," Lorenz observed, his cup of tea frozen halfway to his lips as he observed the dark circles under Ignatz's eyes. "Are you feeling well? You're not coming down with anything, I hope?" 

"I'm fine," Ignatz assured, taking his seat quickly. Lorenz placed his tea cup, and touched the back of his hand to Ignatz's forehead, checking for fever.

They were having breakfast in the solarium, on account of the fine weather. Under the cheerful sunshine that poured in, Lorenz looked particularly luminous. Even this early in the morning, he was put together flawlessly, and Ignatz felt the sour panic at the state of his relationship melt for the first time after a night spent with it heavy in his chest. He took Lore

"I wanted to apologize," Ignatz said, and Lorenz blinked in surprise.

"For what?" Lorenz asked with a small huff of laughter--incredulous at the notion.

"For anything I did to make you uncomfortable," Ignatz said, and floundered, heat rising to his face when he tried to explain further. "When we get too... um... caught up in..."

Lorenz flinched in realization, and pulled his hand free from Ignatz so he could brush fingers through his hair nervously. His own face was turning red.

"Yes, w-well," Lorenz coughed. "It is no matter to apologize over. We both are obviously very... impatient. But that means we should not get ahead of ourselves before the wedding."

"No, I-- I'm sorry, I didn't think. I should have asked anyway, I didn't realize you didn't want to-- do anything before the wedding."

"I would not say I don't want to!" Lorenz corrected, his eyes darting to the window, the ceiling, anywhere but towards Ignatz. "But obviously, we should not engage in anything improper before then."

"Oh, I--" Ignatz felt his perspective pivot once again. "But we're engaged?"

"Yes, that means it is more important than ever to maintain an appropriate conduct throughout--"

"No, I mean. Lorenz." Ignatz touched Lorenz's forearm to stop his nervous stream of words. " _Lorenz_. We're engaged."

"Yes--"

"That means we're allowed to do stuff," Ignatz said.

"...N-no?" Lorenz replied uncertainly.

They stared at each other as the coin finally dropped. This was another one of their misunderstandings, the embarrassing little ways they talked past each other because of the assumptions their respective upbringings instilled in them. 

"Do nobles really not touch each other before marriage?" Ignatz asked, the question bursting out of him first.

"No! I mean, we touch!" Lorenz sputtered. "Holding hands--! And, and kissing! But nothing below the neck, certainly! Do commoners begin relations during their engagements?" Now Lorenz was leaning forward, wide-eyed and compelled by this conversation.

"We don't-- not _relations_ -relations," Ignatz floundered. "Just, engagement things. Stuff that fiances can-- That they're allowed to--" He cast about helplessly as he realized Lorenz wouldn't know what the phrase 'engagement things' would entail. 

In truth, Ignatz wasn't sure about the details either. It was one of those things that nobody had ever set him down to explain, but that one gleaned from social subtext and coded conversations. Nothing that could lead to pregnancy, Ignatz was fairly certain. Nothing penetrative, though Ignatz would sooner melt into a puddle on the ground before saying that word out loud.

"Y-you know," Ignatz tried shakily to explain, "over the clothes stuff. With hands and mouth, no direct, um, contact between the... p-parts--"

He groaned and hid his face in his hands, utterly unprepared for this discussion. Instead of spending the night fretting, he should have been composing a coherent and mature answer to this question, like the soon-to-be-wed adult he was, but instead here he was flailing like some teenager spotting a naughty etching for the first time.

He had just thought--well, before this mortifying discussion, he'd thought he and Lorenz would figure it out as they went along, and the line that they should not cross before their wedding night would present itself organically. Instead, now Ignatz had to face the fact that he and Lorenz were seeing entirely different lines.

Ignatz would have sunk under the table next, except Lorenz pulled his hands away from his face--his glasses were completely smudged now.

"I see I am the one who must apologize," Lorenz said, gentle and strangely calm. He passed a napkin to Ignatz, who set to clean the smudges off his glasses almost reflexively. At least it gave his hands something to do.

"What...? No, what for?" Ignatz asked, his turn to be incredulous.

"I have been remiss in my duties," Lorenz replied. He nodded to himself firmly. "Indeed, I have been incredibly inconsiderate to you this entire time."

"Lorenz--" Ignatz said.

But Lorenz shook his head, and leaned forward to silence Ignatz's lips with his own.

"I have been acting as a fool based on my own assumptions," Lorenz continued, now that Ignatz had fallen quiet. "Clearly I must make amends."

Ignatz stared, uncertain. He placed his glasses back on his face, all the better to stare in complete shock at Lorenz and what he was saying. He hardly thought Lorenz had been inconsiderate, when he'd actually made such a concerted effort to-- preserve Ignatz's virtue? Or the like? Ignatz wasn't sure how to conceptualize it, but he certainly felt touched.

"Tonight, what do you say we convene in my quarters for the evening?" Lorenz suggested.

"In your quarters?" Ignatz echoed.

"Certainly. We must explore the point you have brought up in detail." Lorenz set his attention back on his tea, the matter apparently settled in his mind.

"Explore...?"

"'Engagement things'," Lorenz clarified. He hummed thoughtfully. "I must admit, I am quite intrigued now." A smile danced on his lips, and Ignatz would have called it coy but for the glint of mischief in Lorenz's eyes.

"Okay," Ignatz heard himself saying, so flustered by the promise that he found himself spending the rest of breakfast in a haze.

Maybe this was why they always said communication was important in a relationship. He was starting to see the benefits already.

**Author's Note:**

> Nobility has all these arranged marriages, and get their kids engaged young. So they're a firm no on hanky-panky before marriage. Commoners generally only get engaged as adults and have much shorter engagements, so they may have _some_ hanky-panky before marriage. As a treat. That's my headcanon, and I'm sticking to it.


End file.
